We cannot rely on the media to do the right thing, or to report the truth anymore. They are no longer trustworthy, nor should they ever again be referred to as journalists. They have clearly not displayed any of that for more than a few years since the trend started to take hold that reporting FIRST was the primary objective, leaving the truth far behind. They now favor the blind-eye approach, to reporting anything regarding illegal actions against our LEO. In fact, you will only see articles when it favors their agendas – gun control, racism, use of force issues against citizens, or any inflammatory piece they can concoct to make LE look bad. They will never take the time to learn the law, read the UOF policies, or learn anything about violence the way our officers have to the hard way, and at their own expense too often.

This trend started during the last administrations last two years in office, leaving many of us dumbfounded. It started because of actions that appeared on the surface to some to be race related – without facts to support that viewpoint, even through today. It started because of the lack of education by too many ‘reporters’, politicians, and other no-name ‘celebrities’ who felt compelled to comment and were enabled to do so, again, without facts, but with personal and emotional outbursts that had no merit, or little at best. Social media is to blame as much or more-so than mainstream media is – it has given a platform to those that would abuse the freedom to expound although clearly irresponsibly, and because they feel compelled to say something – anything. And ‘anything’ is what we usually see/read. We give it weight where it’s not deserved. When the opportunity arises to educate them as to the error of their statements and ways, they turn a deaf ear – and that includes all of the mainstream media outlets. They don’t want the truth, unless it’s their version and fits their agendas.

Sure there is a lot of racism – and we are all guilty, it’s not just a one-sided deal as much as many would like to portray it. Sure there are bad cops – the good cops don’t want them either. Sure there are plenty of instances where we can second-guess the outcomes, but hey, you know what? We weren’t there. We weren’t the ones that had to make the tough decisions. Let’s try to remember that these officers are volunteers. YES. They volunteered to defend your rights, your life-style, your family.

They also are human. And like you, they make mistakes as we all have. But they also RUN to your house when you call. They run into danger, with little to no information. They have to sort it out all out in as little as 0 seconds. They have to determine who the good guy is from the bad guy. They do that willingly.

Because this is America, we have certain privileges that allow us to think differently, and often times that thinking is clearly skewed towards an agenda. Where once there was respect for our law enforcement teams, that has eroded thanks to the nonsense that we CHOOSE to believe through our choice of news media outlet ‘truths.’ It hasn’t dawned on most yet that THEY could be wrong, or that they would willingly LIE. Because they have yet to be taken to task for their lies, and pay a price, they continue to alter our realities with every falsehood that they push on us, without the benefit of background checks, fact checking, and educating themselves on the laws that are on the books before they publish the lies.

A by-product of this willful ignorance, and the diminishing of what used to be a respectable profession, was to destroy a profession that embodies men and women that willingly put their lives in jeopardy every day – for all of us.

I’ve been hoping for a turn-around event to happen that would start to quell this disturbing trend, but apparently the silent majority doesn’t have it in them to do the right thing and speak up and speak out. I think they’re too afraid of criticism, and are willing, at the expense of our officers, to let things be. It’s a trickle UP effect. If the majority don’t speak up, then the media gets the message that they can pull the wool further over our eyes.

The day will come when the lines will dwindle – the lines of willing recruits. The young and ambitious recruits that want to do the right thing, for their communities. The children that have grown into responsible adults, that want to make a difference. Those that are willing to give their lives for truth, and freedom. Your freedom. Those willing to protect your community, your neighborhood, your home, your family, your lifestyle.

When that day comes, and it’s coming sooner than you think, you’ll be picking up a phone that no one will answer on the other end. No one is coming to save you. No one. Because, well, you wanted it that way. You didn’t want Police to have the powers they’d need to intercede on your behalf. You didn’t want them to make the tough choices because you didn’t understand what it took to do that, and wouldn’t take the time to educate yourself about what it took to get them to the streets in the first place. You didn’t care enough or have what it took to step up and volunteer to do it yourself, but yet you want to discriminate without anything understanding of what it takes to become a Police Officer.

Sadly, these same officers are your friends, family, neighbors, or someone that you have a connection to however slim that might be. They are the ones that get to deal with the things you didn’t have the gumption to. They deal with the violent, the substance abusers, those pesky panhandlers, the thieves, the spousal abusers, the girl that hit your car and left the scene without a care, the guy that shot your dog – because he was in his yard, the truck owner that ran the stop sign and totaled your car – and has no insurance. You can fill in the blanks – they’re not coming to deal with any of that, because of your silence your lack of support, your inability to set the record straight. They’ve decided that it just wasn’t worth it. No future in it, and lack of community support is killing that profession, and it started with the media attacks, media lies, and the gullibility of the community to believe most of what was said, written, and daily ‘reported’ as FACT, without merit.

Crime is going up. Look at Chicago – where killing is rampant in the days since this trend started. When the police aren’t around to keep things in check, these trends start up. It can no longer be blamed on racism, because it’s happening in all of the communities – white on white and black on black violence out of control, and not enough blue men and women to respond. Their numbers are dwindling because of retention problems and attrition due to so many retiring – many before their scheduled dates.

You think it’s bad? You have no idea. The worst is coming, and you’ve not only allowed it, but you’ve welcomed it because of your lack of commitment to set things right, to support those that would give their lives for you. If you think it’s okay to kill cops, or won’t even try to get involved to change this status quo, then you are the problem. You have no one else to blame.

Use of Force is hard for the un-educated to witness. Not everyone has the ability to give themselves permission to use it when it is not only justified, but necessary. For those with a Duty To Act, or contracted Security Officers that need to go hands on, this program gives you some very viable solutions to your commonly encountered issues. Jay is not only a Martial Artist, but a competitor in his sport, and a certified LEO, and SWAT DT Instructor. He knows the rules, knows the game, and knows the adversary. He’s also studied cause and effect to the point that he tells you what you can expect ‘if you do this, he’ll do this.” The techniques are easy, and work. Pay attention to the details that he may not have explicitly spoken aloud – watch his body mechanics. Train slow, and make it work for your body style. Listen to what he’s saying as well as watch his movements. Sometimes the magic is in the details that are either assumed or not spoken. Jay does a good job of revealing those little things, especially during the C&C portions of his program. Research your laws as well, and understand your rights and responsibilities. Watch these techniques often, and work them into your ‘possible responses – either solo or with you partner. Oftentimes you will be the first and possibly only responder, so pick your training well. This package is a good start to getting more than you likely got to begin with.

When I graduated High School in June of 1974 I was reluctantly headed into an unpopular war – forced into the breech by the Draft. When the draft was discontinued, I considered myself one of the lucky one’s. I’d found myself aligned with many of my age group that didn’t understand the ‘conflict’ in Viet Nam, and disagreed with the government on more than a few things we didn’t understand.

After a few years of struggling with my feelings about how I felt about not wanting to go, and seeing the fate of others deliberately avoiding the draft, some by choosing to leave the country, times had changed and I had changed, matured perhaps.

I’ve always felt guilty about not doing my duty for my country, yet relived that I didn’t have to give my life for a war I didn’t believe in. But, how is an 18 year old supposed to understand things like war?

During all of the ensuing years, I’d come to some compromise that I managed to live with. I also know I’m not the only one – I know others are out there that also continue to deal with the feelings.

The Viet Nam war was our war. Everything about it has captured my attention for a lifetime. The movies, the images, the controversy, the politics, and shame, the inhumanity.

During my years as a Security Professional, I had may encounters with Viet Nam veterans, beginning in 2008. Because of the nature of my job, most encounters were not without challenges. I met many vets over nearly nine years of doing the job, and befriended a few. I learned not to ask questions, but to listen when they chose to speak.

During one visit, a vet with a history of frequency came in, greeted me and while he was being triaged, he’d excused himself from the small exam room to come back out to my desk, where he pulled a large knife out of the front of his pants. He placed it on the counter-top in front of me, and said “I’d like you to hold this for me please.”

Not your everyday verbal exchange, and yes, it caught me by surprise, but not one tinged with fear.

At some point, I’d asked him to explain it to me. I said, “you spent time in Viet Nam, correct?” He nodded. “You must have learned a lot about defending yourself while you were there, right?” Again, he nodded. “Why do you feel you need to carry something like this around with you?” “Brother, it’s not safe out there in the streets.”

We had quite a long and complex friendship over the years until he passed. I always felt comfortable around him, never threatened, even when he was clearly trying to be threatening to others. We had an understanding and respect for one another. I listened, even when he wasn’t speaking, and he tuned into that.

One year, I volunteered to stand watch on the ‘traveling wall’ that was in our area for a weekend. It was an experience that I felt compelled to do. I will never regret that decision.

Perhaps these are my penance, but I know they didn’t happen out of thin air. Some times we just have to accept that things happen for a reason, and accept the fact that we may never truly understand.

There’s the background, some of it in a nutshell.

I chose to buy a book that made me uneasy due to the nature of it’s content – or so I thought. My wife refuses to watch anything to do about Viet Nam, and war in general. I have a fascination with conflict, and have studied it for years – now apparent to me.

I have been a fan of the author for many years, all of my years of Security. He was one of my early finds when I chose to look for good educational material on how-to do the job. Loren filled the bill, with ease. His style was akin to an easy conversation with an old friend, if you will.

His advice was welcomed, and it was always about good choices that I could live with – it wasn’t about machismo, or ego, but strictly about getting a job done quickly, effectively, efficiently and without doing deliberate damage.

I have purchased nearly 2/3’s of his output to date, but have stayed away from anything not related to self-defense or control and constraint related training.

When he released this book, Policing Saigon, my interest was piqued, but yet I waited nearly two years to purchase it. Read the above introduction.

This morning, the day before Veteran’s Day, I have finished reading it cover to cover. I will say that it was challenging, especially after the 2/3’s point of the book, when my mood changed. The deeper I got into it, the more I found myself reflecting on my personal feelings. Near the end, it was just a series of waves that I rolled with, along with the author. Some of his writing caught me by surprise to be honest. Not in a bad way, but by exposing his own feelings and un-resolved issues.

This is not a book about war stories, although it is all of that, but from the perspective of a very young man who found himself doing his service all the while developing skills for his chosen career path as a Law Enforcement Official.

What Loren presents here is a very unique look into his personal experience. It’s not a hard read, or at least it wasn’t for me, and yet I had to push myself at places to continue and to finish up – all the while wondering what I was going to find, and or how I was going to write a review of this material.

It’s not a training manual, and yet you will learn some very interesting things. I learned a lot about the man I didn’t know, and a lot of that was through his very personal insights.

I have always respected Loren because of the amount of information that he put out there to keep others safe. In an age where paranoia within the ranks runs too high, there are a very few professionals that understand that information that has been hard-won is useless unless it’s shared with others that can make a difference. Loren is that guy, all day long.

A lot of this book is about personal perspective, mutual interests, and sharing an experience unlike anyone else’s. Loren succeeded. Sometimes we need to face those things that make us uncomfortable – they happened, and life goes on. What Loren shares within these pages are his personal recollections of a very difficult time in America for a whole generation of us that didn’t commit to that contract. I have mixed feelings about how I feel now that I have read his story, a lot of which I know we will never know. I can see through fresh eyes things that I never experienced, and yet know that we both had similar feelings about specific events.

For those of us that chose the profession of dealing with the violent, we get each other, and yet we never touch upon some of the personal weight we each bear. There’s a lot to explore there. This book is about Viet Nam, but it’s also relevant to LEO and Security professionals in many ways.

I sensed mutual feelings along the journey, and my respect for Loren is total. Not only does he write about a difficult period of history in a unique and personal way, but he laid out his soul along the way. They say to never look at your heroes too closely. This may be as close I will ever come to doing that.

This book is sure to conjure up something inside of you – it surely did in me, and while it’s always difficult to look at oneself in the mirror, sometimes one needs to do so to re-focus. Thank you Loren for yet another excellent read, and for baring some of your soul.

I generally don’t read much fiction anymore, but Matt has changed that. In the past year I have plowed through three of his other books, and just finished this one – in under a week!

Matt has the ability to draw you in and hold you with his word-craft. His stories are riveting and believable. He uses his technical expertise and his well-fought experience to keep it moving along, and make it hard to put down.

Matt’s Trilogy got me started, and had me seeking out any of his other published works. The trilogy was so believable, and perhaps foreshadowing some of what we all know could be our possible futures.

If you enjoy a good and believable read, please give his work a notice.

This 10 Question interview originally appeared in Black Belt Magazine, but has been edited by Tim Boehlert at the request of CRGI staff. We first published it back in 2015 but feel that as attacks are on he increase, particularly from lone wolf terrorists using low tech weapons, it was time to reprint it.

Q: Should the average person be worried about lone-wolf terrorist attacks?

A: Terror cells, like the Boston Marathon bombers, that are not connected by anything other than ideology will become increasingly common. In some ways, lone cells are more dangerous than organized terrorism because lone cells are difficult to monitor, control or discover. The more we go after the larger terror organizations, the more they will split into smaller cells. This is exactly what has happened with the drug cartels.

Q: Do you think the Internet is becoming the prime tool for terrorist organizations to recruit lone wolves in any part of the world?

A: Yes, the Internet is a major tool today for recruiting, teaching and spreading terrorist ideologies around the globe. The Internet can be used to traffic information and gather intelligence, and as a meeting place for finding others with the same ideas. It’s very easy to create fake accounts, use them while they are viable, then disappear – maybe completely. Terrorists are becoming increasingly tech-savvy.

Q: Are there any parallels between how terrorists recruit lone wolves and how gangs recruit members?

A: Terror groups share the same mentality as gangs — exploiting hate, spreading anger and practicing brutality. Terrorists also practice the same indoctrination techniques as gangs. Using ideology to ‘persuade’ others that are malleable has been highly effective.

Q: As high-profile targets get extra security, is there an increased likelihood that soft targets — and civilians — will be attacked by lone wolves?

A: Nowadays, we are seeing sick people understand that the more brutal their methods, the more media exposure they gain. As governments and sensitive targets continue to invest in more security, we will begin to see more and more independent terror attacks on soft targets such as bus stations, schools and any place that will instill fear into the public. Terror’s main goal is to create an atmosphere of fear, for control purposes.

Q: In light of all this, what measures can people take to stay safe?

A: Citizens need to push for government to be less tolerant of terrorist ideologies. We also need to educate the public and law enforcement on terrorists and terror culture. It seems to me that people have too much tolerance for terror — sometimes even the police are more strict on normal civilian criminals than on terrorists who walk free among us. One must study and understand what terrorism is before we decide how to fight it. People must understand how terror feeds from the media.

Q: Is increased awareness the most important precaution a person can take?

A: Awareness of who lives around us is important, but it is also important that we protect our freedom from pervasive surveillance and a society wherein anyone could frivolously call the police and have a person arrested. Security and surveillance must be approached in a measured manner. We are seeing instances of abuse as a result of increased surveillance daily it seems.

We should demand more security in schools for our children. In and around our homes, people need to take it upon themselves to study and train in counterterrorism. You are the first responder, not anyone else, and if you always rely on someone else to arrive, they might be too late. We need to take responsibility for our own safety – at hime, at work, on vacation even. Simple things can make a difference.

Q: Do you recommend that people consider lawfully carrying a firearm — assuming they have an interest and have had the proper training?

A: It’s easier to carry a gun in a bag than to carry a police officer. If most normal civilians carry firearms, it will reduce crime as well as terrorism. Switzerland is an example of a country where most civilians own guns, and it’s one of the safest places in the world. People need to take more than just the standard 8-hour course as prescribed in many states. They should know how to use it, how to clean it, how to clear jams. They should know how to shoot in low-light, how to re-load, with either hand.

In Israel, firearm owners must complete 50 hours of training every year to hold a permit. We have seen many situations wherein the first responders were normal civilians who defended and stopped terrorists before any police cars showed up. We also have civilian police volunteers who get training by the police and carry police identification cards. These volunteers patrol sensitive areas and help prevent crime and terrorism. In my system of Kapap, we teach firearms, CPR, surveillance and counter-surveillance as part of our Martial Arts. This training develops awareness and the ability to effectively respond in emergency situations.

Q: How useful could a knife be in the hands of a trained martial artist who’s facing a lone wolf terrorist?

A: Knives are effective weapons and very important to study. The only problem is that it’s hard for a person to use a knife in a real situation. The knife is not a simple weapon unless you are well trained, and overcoming the psychological barrier of fighting with a knife is difficult for most people. People need a lot of training to overcome training that they’ve had since childhood – “Be Nice!”, “Don’t hurt them!”, ” Don’t be rude!” etc. These are simple examples of how we are taught to be courteous and kind, even when facing violence. To overcome this pre-conditioning takes a lot of specialized training. We need to learn to give ourselves to BE RUDE, to strike first – preemptively.

I would also recommend learning about the gun before learning about the knife. Nonetheless, knives are great weapons and are readily available — e.g. in the kitchen. Improvised edged weapons, such as a broken bottle, are also great for self-defense.

Q: How is fighting a person who’s willing to give his life for a cause different from fighting a mugger, a gang-banger or a rapist?

A: Most criminals are not ready to die. That simple fact makes self-defense easier because even rapists and other criminals are just looking for easy victims. Terrorists look for any victim, and therefore anyone is a potential target. Terrorists may fight to the death, which makes the fight very difficult to finish. This is why guns are better to carry than knives. A knife will also require one to be close to the threat, whereas a gun allows one to fight from behind cover. There’s a huge mindset difference. One’s goal is to get resources from you – cash, jewelry, sex. The goal of the terrorist is completely different. Both may treat you as less than human, for different ‘needs’ to be fulfilled.

Q: Realistically, what chance does an unarmed martial artist stand against an armed terrorist?

A: The first rule is to never give up — regardless of whether you are unarmed and the attacker has a weapon. You should always maintain your awareness and carry your hand-to-hand skills, as well as your gun-disarm skills. Assuming that an attacker does not have a gun can be a deadly mistake.

***Avi Nardia is a a former hand-to-hand combat instructor for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Reserve, the Israeli counter-terrorism unit YAMAM and the Israeli Operational Police Academy. He teaches the martial art of Kapap, as well as Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Krav Maga. Kapap is also being taught around the globe through a network of affiliated schools. Avi has produced a series of DVD’s through multiple vendor sources such as BUDO.

When we discuss the many and varied aspects of violence dynamics, including preferences, techniques, styles and more, we should also keep a few key points in mind:

[01] Violence is different with every encounter. What worked once, may not work in a similar situation somewhere down the road, which effectively forces you to pick alternative responses, preferably before-hand, and no matter who you are or how good you give yourself credit for being. Don’t believe your own story, that’s the first thing that will get you in trouble.

[02] Limiting what you learn may be a great choice, but it could also cost you. For instance, if you choose to limit your exposure or your training for only specific types of encounters, you’ll come up empty when that doesn’t happen, but ‘this’ does.

Perhaps you should consider reading more about the differences between possible and probable events, and change your training, or modify it to the most likely (probable) scenarios primarily, but not to entirely discount the other possibilities?

[03] Violence in the form that most of us will encounter is going to be social-based, and not asocial violence. Thus, your goals may be merely to set social status, or to protect property, or maybe even to send a message/threat, implicit or otherwise that “it would not be wise to cross this line” or some such similar reasoning.

[04] Having a weapon on your person at the time of any encounter may determine to a judge/jury an outcome that you didn’t expect, foresee or plan for. Think of how others will see your actions – “You planned it.” Thus, a pre-mediation factor creeps in by the other sides legal team. And again, you need to understand your laws, because I can guarantee you that the arriving officials may not, and/or do not understand the laws concerning the UOF and threat of UOF when displaying/brandishing as an example a ‘pocket knife.’

I will give you an example of how and why my path differs from yours. In one of my jobs in a Security force function, we had to follow policies (those of the institution – the employer.) We were never allowed to strike, kick or throw anyone. Now if you’d already learned your ‘art’, a lot of your go-to options have effectively been taken off the table. What now? You’ll spend a lot of time un-learning everything you know about your MA or your combatives training.

We were also limited in our responses and options by local, state and federal laws. Have you got any familiarity with any of the typical laws regarding the use of force in your community? If you do, that’s a good start. Now, throw in dealing with a vulnerable population – the homeless, those with substance abuse issues, those with mental health diagnoses, those showing altered mental status (AMS) symptoms – which could include some of the above, but also consider the autistic, those with dementia and those with alzheimers disease.

Now, add these restraining factors:

[a] You are being watched and recorded in almost every interaction – by the institution, and many times by the public. And while the institution may back you up in your response, the public likely won’t. Why? because violence is ugly, no matter who you are. And the only way that you can even approach ‘getting it’ is by studying it, doing it and learning from it all, good and bad.

[b] You could be reprimanded, suspended, fired, sued or some combination of all of these possible ‘disciplinary’ actions. And then there may be the media exposure…

[c] There’s also a toll you pay – with every, single transaction. With some, you may feel confident beyond a doubt that your use of force (violence) was justified. but with many events, you’re going to question what you did, how you did it and more, if not now, based on how your work develops and the amount of support or lack of support that you receive along the journey. Unfortunately, you still need to make your own choices with almost every encounter. The toll may be feeling guilty, or bad, but another cost is in your future performance factors – will you step up the next time, will you throttle back your response stance for better or worse? Again, these are personal choices based on several factors – the law, the policy, your moral compass, the views of your peers, the views of the public or other employees that surround you.

[d] There are also environmental factors that need to be considered, maybe specifically in my model, but I’d say likely in yours as well. As a much used training example: after hitting another combatant, he goes down, and hits his head on a curb. He dies as a result of his injuries, and your actions. Your life as you knew it ended when he died.

Now of course there are times when you may have no worries, but I can’t think of a specific one at the moment. Even as an employee, whose job description cites protecting property and the public in/around your facility, and even if he’d pulled a knife on you, and you may have legal grounds to justify your actions, it’s not over – not by a long shot. Knowing your environment may convince you to re-think the options you choose to deploy in all or most of your actions. Sometimes that’s not possible, but you may have to plan that into your ‘threat response kit.’

Violence is an ugly option, but it’s also a necessary one when dealing with violent people. The only outcome should be in your favor, and in conjunction with all of the legal and moral lines that we all typically follow and/or are held to. There are more mental aspects to dealing effectively with violence than there are physical aspects perhaps, but years of study has shown me that, and your experiences may be different. One quote that I learned early on was: “to stop a violent act, you need to be better at violence than they are.” For me, that set the tone of every encounter. It started the ‘conversation’, helped set my mindset when ‘the dance sequence’ began, and added confidence at the beginning of every dance.

I dealt with hundreds of acts of violence over the years that I was active, and I can honestly state that I never had a plan other than to end it in my favor. I never used more than a few go-to techniques. I transitioned into control after the ‘attack’ with no abuse, no ego issues, and no threat of retaliation or to punish. It was never about punishment. When it was over, it was over – not personal, just a business transaction between two parties that didn’t view the transaction in the same terms you might say.

I can also state that I dealt with a varied population – MH patients, family members, friends and acquaintances, but also substance abusers, those at risk, child molesters, murderers, rapists, thieves, juveniles, men, women, transgender ad all of it’s associated labels and children. They all had one thing in common – they were all violent. The one takeaway for me is that it was a great learning time, with either willing or unwilling participants that all had one thing in common: they knew how to use violence. It mattered just a little about why, but you need to let that go too. Rather than to reject their reasoning, or to argue about it, you just need to embrace the fact that you may not change their minds, and when it’s time, it’s time. You need to pick the when, where and how. Everything else is open for discussion, but perhaps afterwards.

I’ve even had to address other Martial Artists. I had one technique that I used under those circumstances. It never got physical, despite their sometimes impressive attempts to convince me that I was not going to be able to stop them because of their knowledge, which was scary during more than one encounter. Any Martial Artist has this knowledge, and knows what my solution was. There was of course a backup plan, and that was just too easy – it makes me smile to think about it, because might isn’t always right. And that is a technique too.

Give choices – it MAY work… A lot of social violence is about saving face – learn that. Respect goes a long, long way, even when it’s not deserved or earned.

Learn to actively listen without feeling the need to respond – immediately at a minimum. Most of us listen half-heartedly while we are formulating a response. STOP doing that! Be conscious of it when you are doing it, and work at getting better at not doing it in the future.

Expand your vocabulary, expand your training potential, expand your capacity for discovering that you’ll never know it all, you’ll never be the best, or undefeated even. Embrace the possibilities, educate yourself, and share.

This knowledge, my knowledge, is specific, to and for me, because I know what worked for me. I wasn’t ever the best, but I was never the worst. I was effective, and had only a few close calls where it could have gone the other way, but the social aspect of the struggle was on the table and in play, to my advantage. I was maybe the most studied. I continue to learn, and expand my horizons and educate others based on my knowledge and experience, because it can make a difference for someone, somewhere – you’ll never know.

I bought my very first Versacarry [https://www.versacarry.com] product in November, 2017 – the Versahub® Bedside Mount platform. It works perfectly, allowing me to keep my handgun and one magazine within close reach. It’s durable, and useable in a few more areas than just the bedroom. A good investment!

Andy Brown has written a captivating account about a pair of tragedies that occurred at Fairchild Air Force Base in 1994, and within days of each other. One is an Active Killer story with mental health issue underpinnings, and the other is a story of denial, privilege, abuse of authority, and the good-ole-boys-network syndrome. Both stories have tragic endings, that left me unsettled and with too many questions. Both stories also offer great insights and information, and both offer great lessons to be studied and learned – if we’re strong enough and smart enough to do that.

Reading this book brought back a lot of (bad) memories, and frustrations that I’d experienced over an almost 9 year career working in a regional health-care facility as a Security Officer.

Andy interweaves the two stories throughout his text with ease. The first story captivated me as it was at times like reliving some of my past experiences in mental health. In this story you will learn something about mental health illness. You will also learn about ‘the system’, and how difficult it is to diagnose a mental health illness in the first place, but also how difficult it then becomes to treat something that hasn’t been clearly defined, nor clearly agreed upon by teams of mental health-care professionals.

You will also learn about how ‘the system’ can be and is manipulated – by both patient and provider.

Clearly we all lost in the end. The price was paid by too many, and that price is still being paid – by too many and for far too long. You will encounter many who stepped up and used their talents to save lives, including the author himself. You’ll experience the chaos that surrounds these events, as if you were there as it unfolded. Hopefully you’ll see and perhaps understand better, and likely for the first time, what price is paid by those we call hero. You’ll definitely feel like you’re in the story as it unfolds.

The second story unfolds simultaneously, but in what may seem like a totally different world. You’ll see and understand how power corrupts. How despite denials that the signs were there. Many, many others saw and reported their discomfort in what they’d seen and or experienced. How one man risked his career to stop the madness that ultimately cost the lives of more innocents. You’ll learn more about the inner workings of a government entity, how rank and idolization blinded too many (in postions to STOP the madness) for too long, and for the wrong reasons.

There is a lot to process in this book. The ending chapter pages were personally very disturbing to me. It made/makes me mad, and sad, but I hope that it opens the eyes of some, and starts new conversations – with new insights, and better information.

There are those among us that step up for all of the right reasons, and do what we can’t or won’t do. We owe it to them to either educate ourselves BEFORE we speak or to remain silent until we know better. Those very same people deserve our respect and our support, for they pay a cost we can’t comprehend and don’t necessarily see.

Taking stock of the last year, and previous years opportunities leading up to today, and looking forward to new challenges and accomplishments in 2019.

Starting in 2011 I was fortunate through the wonders of serendipity to meet my teacher/trainer/sensei/friend, Avi Nardia. At that time I was still looking for better solutions to the problems that arise when you are required to address violence in some of it’s many forms.

I’d started my search in 2009, and was lucky to find other like-minded professionals that had already done the hard work, and come out on the other side with new-found knowledge. And here’s the kicker—they were all willing to share their knowledge.

In 2011 I’d started to venture a bit to share some of my knowledge and talents with some of those very same teachers.

I edited my first book by Peyton Quinn, after doing a read on another one of his novels. I was thrilled to be asked to help out, and the result is Musashi’s: Book of Five Rings, In Plain English.

In 2012 I ‘encouraged’ some would say, but I know the author would agree, I pushed Rory Miller to put out one book that became Talking Them Through: Crisis Communication with the Emotionally Disturbed and the Mentally Ill. I asked a few of my contacts to also help provide feedback and input. I am so very blessed to have been able to contribute to a book that is close to home, and thankful to have found Rory. His work was the start of a journey.

In 2017 A(well, really 2015.. wait, 2012… yeah, 2011) I was able to not only Edit, but contribute and co-write many of the stories found in 2017’s Sensei On The Road, with Avi Nardia Sensei. This book is a compilation of many of our published articles (Budo International and Conflict Research Group International) that we were lucky to have a chance to do, plus other material that Avi put together outlining just some of his travels around the world training.

In 2017, I was again sparked to get re-involved in doing research on Active Shooter events and subsequent training. I stepped up my professional credentials a notch and got re-involved in the community’s response. In January, I read a new book on the subject by Aaron Jannetti, and wrote a review for him on Amazon.com, which I think was received well by the author. Immersing yourself in these events is difficult at best. Reading his book brought out some of that difficulty, but in a very good way. His work and his efforts are to be applauded. To my knowledge his work is the first that I’ve seen that is truly on the right road to getting help out into the community that needs to read it, hear it, see it and experience it. Kudos Aaron.

In early summer 2018, I was asked by author Alain Burrese if I’d help him with his forthcoming Surviving a Shooter book. As with Rory’s book, I added my two cents, did a lot of editing, and I think his book is another one that needs to see the light of day for those seeking answers to the AS event. Alain is a trainer in this area of expertise as well, and has come up with a good book that will surely help others.

In late fall (early winter?) I was asked by Loren W. Christensen if I’d help him with some editing for a new book that he’d been working on. Loren is also one of my early influences, and fluent and frequent resources that was able to keep me safe in a violent environment for many years through his writing and teaching output. He had been working on a book and started to send me chunks of it. I not only helped out, but learned at the same time. Loren really doesn’t need anything more than just another set of four-eyes like mine before he releases any of his work. Truly. Not only is he a great teacher, but a mentor as well, and a very prolific author – with over 60 published titles to date. A very humbling experience, for which I am grateful.

I’ve just finished a read of a soon-to-be-released book that tells one family’s story about the mass killing of students and faculty on February 14th, 2018 at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

The book kept me fully engaged because of how it was written as much as for why it was written. Within a few short hours I had consumed 3/4’s of it—in one sitting. It was that riveting.

I have studied Active Shooter events since that term/label came into general acceptance many years ago. I’ve done a lot of research on the subject since 2012, and have read a lot of the how-to books, attended some of the local AS training seminars as well as that training provided to the public by the DHS, and I’ve pondered many of the difficult issues surrounding these events for the ensuing years.

I have my personal thoughts, and have come to some of my own personal conclusions. I also have zero first-hand experience, like most of us.

What makes this book unique is partially because of who wrote it. That can also be split again into because of who wrote it. Confused? The author is the parent of 2 of the students that were in the school when the event happened, and the uncle of another one. He’s also easily more studied on AS events than most of us, which comes into play.

I hate to call this book a story but it really is. It’s a first-person’s view from the ground of what happened that day in a small community where too many believed that something like this could never happen.

I literally ran through most of this book because it was that captivating. It drew me in, and held onto me. I couldn’t stop, and I didn’t want to either.

Okay, so the core of this book is about the family. How this event changed lives, changed ideas, changed plans, changed perspectives, and changed kids that weren’t ever prepared for this. There is just such a great model here of what the American Family symbolizes to many of us. It’s a firsthand look into the atomic family—a dad that works hard to support his family, maybe with an un-conventional day-job, but I guess that depends on your outlook. A mother that gives back to the community in her own way and through her job. Two sisters that are on the verge of adulthood, but maybe just a few short years away.

Here’s the fallacy: The thing that will never happen here… does.

It all starts with a text message…

Through the first few minutes, then during the course of the ensuing hours you will learn what it could be like for you, for your family.

One major difference from this point on is that you start to learn more about how this family functions—so many differences from the ‘norm’ that I’d guess most families adhere to. There is so much to learn from because of those differences though.

There truly is a lot to be gleaned here. Lessons that we need to pay attention to, and ultimately a conversation that needs to be had.

Having no expectations going in, I came out having my own at the end of the book, and here’s my hope: I hope that you will purchase this book first and foremost for the best reason possible. Secondly, I hope that you’ll see it for what it has turned out to be—a call to all of us to come together to find workable solutions that will save lives. Thirdly, I hope that you’ll start to consider that we’re all in this together—even if and when we don’t agree on certain specific issues. We need to solve this together, there is no other alternative.

My thanks to the author, and to his family for sharing an event that had to be doubly difficult to re-live through this books birthing process. As tragic as the events were, it is uplifting to read and hear such a strong message from those who could have as easily turned away, and left us all with nothing more than speculation, and bad information that is all too often spoon-fed to us by the media—and with their agenda in mind, only.